1. Laminate Abrasion Tester
Team 14:
Niki Frangakis
Brian Hollingshaus
Janelle Konchar
Joshua Stetler
Sponsors: Chris Polizzi, Rob Carlozzi, Lauren Russo, Steve Stark
Advisor: Dr. Dick Wilkins
Final Concept: Abrader Machine
Final Concept: Assessment Method
Project Background
W. L. Gore & Associates develops and manufactures high performance filter bags for the industrial filtration market.
Need to create more abrasion resistant membranes in laminate materials.
Past testing methods to evaluate laminate abrasion:
Basic - Subjective - Not Repeatable
Increase the contrast of the abraded vs. non-abraded areas of the laminate.
Dust specimen with dyed
baking powder enhancer
Digitally capture the specimen image using a scanner.
Use computer software to analyze the color distribution within a specimen.
Calculate
% of damaged laminate:
A linear thruster powered by compressed air moves a laminate sample beneath an air cylinder arm with attachable abrading tips.
Machine Subsystems:
Supportive base frame
Abrading mechanism
Linear movement of sample
Orientation and clamping of sample
Gore-Tex® Laminate Filtration Media
Consists of Two Layers
Backing Fabric to Provide Support
ePTFE Membrane to Enhance Filtration
AdobePhotoshop
Operating Procedure:
Laminate sample clamps to base mount using magnet ring
Air cylinder activated and attached stylus tip put into contact with sample
Linear thruster moves sample underneath abrading tip causing a 4 inch abrasion mark
A turntable allows the laminate specimen to be indexed for abrasion in 8 directions. =
# of colored pixels
total # of pixels
Project Goal
Design ● Build ● Evaluate
A test device to become part of the laminate R&D platform that:
1) Models the abrasion-producing actions of filter bag
manufacturing
2) Produces empirical data documenting the amount of
physical abrasion damage that occurs to the laminate
specimen.
Validation
Design Variables (Inputs): Response Variable (Output):
Evaluate the Measurement Process (EMP) Study
To characterize measurement
error within test outcome
Attribute variability to the
Operator
Machine
Process
Quantifiable data achieved
Enhancer application inconsistent
Further testing recommended
Design Specifications
Quantifiable Data %
Repeatable Independent of User %
Model Manufacturing Abrasion %
Length of Test Time %
Ease of Use %
Versatile for Many Fabrics %
Cost Effective %
Durability %
EMP Study – Intraclass Correlation
Response
Simple, quick, and repeatable R&D test
Objective measurement
Comparative analysis tool to guide development of robust laminates
Cost and resource effective solution
Benefits
Conclusions